Black celebrities are branching out and creating multiple streams of income, and one of those ways is by becoming an entrepreneur. Here are some of the celebs and the companies they created.
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Serena Williams
The retiring tennis star, Serena Williams, has dipped her toes in several business ventures, mainly investing finance industries, but the businesses she can claim as her own are Serena Ventures which is a venture capital firm, and S by Serena and Serena Williams Jewelry, brands that she designs for.
Tabitha Brown
Tabitha Brown, known for her soothing Southern accent and vegan recipes, is the co-owner of the vegan restaurant Kale My Name. The TikTok star also has a clothing and home decor collaboration with Target, a seasoning collaboration with McCormick, an autobiography and cookbook, a hair care line, and a kid’s TV show called Tab Time.
Sean “Diddy” Combs
Sean “Diddy” Combs may soon reach billionaire status as he is the founder of many lucrative businesses. Combs Enterprises was created in 2004, which is the company that his businesses like Bad Boy Entertainment, Sean John, Ciroc Vodka, Revolt TV & Media, Revolt Films, DeLeón Tequila, and several others brands.
Rihanna
Rihanna’s main contributor to her billionaire status is her makeup empire, Fenty Beauty. The “Needed Me” singer owns 50 percent of the cosmetic line and also has a significant amount of stake in the lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty. She has tackled the makeup and clothing industries, there are whispers that a hair venture is coming soon!
Lebron James
Lebron James is the first active basketball player to become a billionaire, and that is because of his founding companies and investments in multiple markets aside from sports, for example: the four-time championship winner is the founder of the entertainment and production company Springhill Company, a nutrition and supplement brand called Ladder, and clothing brand, UNKNWN.
Tyler Perry
The entertainment giant Tyler Perry owns Tyler Perry Studios, where he has made over $660 million dollars alone from the Madea franchise. His work as an actor, writer, producer, and director has made him a billionaire, as he owns all his projects.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’
50 Cent is the founder of Sire-Spirits, which promotes Le Chemin du Roi wine and Branson Cognac. He also founded G-Unit a brand that has expanded across multiple industries, including audio, film, books, sneakers, and records. He has most recently dedicated his time to the Power series that he sold to the STARZ network.
Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter
Jay-Z has strategically added streams of income to rightly become a billionaire. Founder of Roc Nation, Roc Nation Sports, co-founder of Rocawear, co-owner of 40/40 club, Made in America music festival, Armand de Brignac champagne, a venture capital firm, and a long list of other business deals.
Shonda Rhimes
The famed producer, writer and creator Shonda Rhimes is the founder of Shondaland, the production company that has made some our favorite shows that she created, Bridgerton, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, just to name a few.
Kanye West
Kanye West is the founder and owner of the Yeezy brand. Yeezy is in a partnership with Adidas, selling mostly sneakers. The brand has also expanded to clothing starting a collaboration with Gap in 2020. The collaboration accumulated $1 billion in sales the first year. Yeezy has allowed the “Heartless” rapper to become a multibillionaire.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey reached the billionaire status from her production endeavors. She owns about a quarter of the OWN Network which produces many long-running shows like Dr. Phil, Iyanla: Fix My Life, and Queen Sugar. She is also the founder of Harpo, Inc. which has Harpo Productions, the company that co-produced The Color Purple and Selma.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is the founder of Teremana tequila, a brand of tequila. He also has a collaboration with Under Armor called Project Rock with exercise clothing and gear. The former WWE star became a co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions in 2012.
Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Ellis Ross is the founder of Pattern Beauty, a curly hair care line. The Blackish actor’s line launched in Ulta stores and online in 2019. Since the launch, the brand is now also sold in Sephora, Target, Amazon, and in the United Kingdom.
Andre “Dr. Dre” Young
Dr. Dre is the founder of Beats by Dre which landed a multibillion-dollar deal with Apple in 2014. He also founded Aftermath Entertainment, a record label that has signed Kendrick Lamar, Anderson Paak, and Eminem.
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